Brick-pressing machine



(No Model.) 4 Sheets-'Sheet 1. C. W. RAYMOND. BRICK PRESSING MACHINE.

No. 417,837. Patented Dec. 24, 1889.

(No Model.) 4 sheetssheet 2.

G'. W; RAYMOND.

BRICK PREssING MACHINE. No..417,83'7. kPatented Dec. 24, 1889.

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(No ModeL) 4 Sheets-Sheet 3. .0. W. RAYMOND. BRICK PRESSING MACHINE.

Patented Dec. 24, 1889.

71 vena;

als wizy (No Model.) 4 sheets-sheen 4. C. W. RAYMOND. BRICK `PRESSINGMAGBINE.

No. 417,837. Patented Deo. 24, 1.889.

M., Uw @m f UNTTnD STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES WV. RAYMOND, OF DAYTON, OHIO.

B'RICK-PRESSING MACHINE.

SPEt'JIl'fIICA'I?IGN forming part of Letters Patent No. 417,837, datedDecember 24, 1889.

Application tiled .Tune 10, 1889. Serial ll'o. 313,720. (No model),

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES W. RAYMOND, a citizen of the United States,residing at Dayton, in the county of Montgomery and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Brick-Pressing Machines,of which the following is a full. clear,

and exact description, reference being had toV the accompanyingdrawings, forming part of this specification.

My invention relates to thatclass of brickmachines known as re-pressingmachines, wherein it is desirable, after the bricks have been formed inthe mold or machine, to give them a second and final pressure by whichany excess of moisture is removed, tne air pressed out, and the bricksgiven their iinal set and shape ready to be burned or baked in the kiln.

My invention is designed as an improvement upon the press described andclaimed in my prior patent, No. 354,226, ot December 14, 1886, or uponpresses of a similar character; and it has for its object the provisionof means for the automatic delivery to and removal from the mold orcompress box of the bricks, whereby the capacity of the machine islargely increased,as well as improvements in the construction ot theparts.

The novelty of my invention will be herein set forth, and specificallypointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of a machineembodying my invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional elevation of theplaten. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail elevation of the spring-buffers andcon= nected parts. Figa is a corresponding view to Fig. i3, representinga modification in the construction. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the machinethrough the dotted line tr ot Fig. l. Fig. (i is an enlarged sectionaldetail through the dotted line Z Z of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a sectionalelevationot the compress-box and associated parts, showing theirposition at the time of pressing. Fig. S is a corresponding view showingthe position of the parts after the pressing has been done and thecompressbox partially lowered. Fig. 9 is' an end elevation of themachine through the dotted line y y of Fig. 1,looking to the right. Fig.10 is such an enlarged sectional side elevation of the compress-box andits associated operating mechanism as is necessary to show the positionof the parts at the two extremes of movement. Fig. 11 is a detail,partly in section, showing a modification in the automatic feeder andremover. Fig. 12 is a sectional elevation ot the compress-box andassociated parts, showing their position when the press is at or nearits complete upstroke. Fig. 13 is a plan view ofthe compress-box andtable, representing a modification in the feeding mechanism.

The same letters of reference are used to indicate identical parts inall the figures.

The main frame-work of the machine is preferably composed ot a singlecasting consisting of a vertical arch A and base or platform B, or itmay be of any other suitable construction. Pivoted, as at a, to lugsupon i the upper side of the platform are two levers O, to the upperends of which are pivoted two similar levers D, said levers beingconnected at their central pivots by a pivoted cross-tie bar E, to whichis pivoted the inner end of a pitman F.

The upper ends of the levers D are pivoted, as at b,to lugs upon theunder side of a carrier or platform G, whose sides, extended upwardly,are vertically planed to fit ways c upon guide-ribs II, extending fromthe inner sides of the arch, as shown. Upon the carri'er G is iirmly butremovably secured the mold or compress box I, open at its top, of theusual or any suitable construction, and in which the bricks are pressed.Vhile in operation the carrier and compress-box are given a constantvertically-reciprocatingm0- tion through the medium ot' t-hetoggle-levers CD, tie-bar F., and pitman F by the following means,referring to Figs. 1 and 5.

In a supplemental frame J, secured to the outer side of the arch A, arejournaled two gear-wheels K, connected together by a wristpin d, uponwhich the outer end o' the pitman F is pivoted. Meshing with the gears Kare two smaller gears L, secured upon a shaft M, journaled in the frameJ, and having upon its outer end a driving-pulley N. Any other suitablepower mechanism for giving a constant vertical reciprocation to thecarrier and compress-box may be substituted in the place of thatillustrated and described.

lVithin the compress-box I is tted a movable bottom e, Figs. 7, S, l0,and 11, to the lower side of which at the center is secured IOO a rod orleg f, which extends down through the cut-out platform or.. carrier Gand is guided vertically through a perforated lug g in the top of asupplemental arch O, secured upon lthe platform B. Between the uprightsof the arch O is a plate 7L, with which or with other'mechanism, to behereinafter described, on the downstroke of the carrier and compress-box the lower end of the leg f comes in contact and is arrested, and soavoid jar and shock in the sudden lowering of the carrier andcompress-box, as well as to operate the bottom e. The leg f, Fig. 3, isprovided with a collar z', preferably adjustable by a setscrew j or anyprojection, such as a key, which comes in contact with a slidingbufferplate k, surrounding the leg f and held up by a central coiledspring Z, surrounding the lug g and legf, and two outer springs m,surrounding vertical guide-rods n, secured to a bottom plate o andextending up through perforations in the buffer-plate, and provided ontheir upper threaded ends with nuts p, for adjusting` the tensions ofthe springs. As av substitute for this buffer construction that shown inFig. 4 may be employed, where the lower end of the leg f is bored out toreceive. a spring q, whose lower end bears against a button upon the topof a rod r, inserted through a cap s, screwed or iitted upon the lowerend of the leg, as will be readily understood. l

Just over the open top of the compress-box is an adjustable platen P,which fits around the top of the arch, is guided between ways t, and isprovided on its under side with a removable plate Q, shaped to t snuglyin the top of the compress-box I. A set-screw R, engaging with athreaded perforation in the top of the arch, has its upper end passedthrough a cross-piece u, bolted to the uprights of the platen, andislocked thereto, but not prevented from rotation, by the collars o,Fig. 9, and is operated to raise or lower the platen by a hand-wheel w.

So much of the press and its mode of operation are substantially that ofmy prior patent before referred to, with the exception of the specialmeans for operating the toggle-levers and the special buffer mechanism,which will form the subject of some of the claims.

The first novel feature of my invention applicable to presses of thischaracter and illustrated in Figs. 1,2, and 7 consists in applying aself-adjusting die S to the platenplate Q, which is recessed to receiveit and from the under surface of which it projects. This die is heldfrom falling out by end flanges a engaging shoulders b', and is heldprojected by springs c', suitably secured in the recess and bearing uponthe upper side of the die. The purpose of this die is to render thebricks of uniform thickness and finish, as follows: It will be borne inmind that the press has a defined unvarying limit of stroke, and itsometimes happens that the bricks before re-pressin g are of varyingthickness. Now, in case of a brick of less thickness than the average,the die S in re-pressing will enter the top surface of the brick andspread it out in all directions, thus giving the required and uniformthickness to the brick, while in bricks of the average thickness the diewill be pressed up into its recess and will very slightly, if at all,enter the top surface of the brick, owing to the yielding of the springsabove the die and the thickness yand density of the brick. In all casesthe bricks will be of an exact size, the only difference being in thedepth of the depressions caused by the die. This die may be provided onits under side with letters or other identifying or ornamental marks, asdesired.

The next feature of my invention (illustrated more particularly in Figs.5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and l0) relates to automatic mechanism for feeding andremoving the bricks to and from the compress-box. Extending from oneside of the compress-box and flush with its upper edge is a table T,supported on posts U, Figs. l and 9, secured to the carrier G. Upon thistable is the automatic feeder and remover, which in one form consists ofa box V, open at the top and preferably flaring and open at the bottom.This box has one side d hinged, as at e', to the upper corners of theends, and has projecting from its opposite side a tubular lug f, intothe outer open end of which is slipped the inner end of a horizontal barW, whose outer end is passed through one or more guide-lugs g upon thetable, and has surrounding it, between the lug g and a pin or collar hupon its outer end,a coiled spring i. Attached to the bar W, justoutside of the lug f is a yoke bar or rod j', Fig. 5, which extendsoutward from the bar W, and then forward along the ends of the box V,through stop and guide lugs la Z upon the ends of the box, and then hasits forward ends bent up and provided with pins engaging theupwardly-extended and slotted pieces m', secured to or integral with theswinging side d. Upon the yoke-barj, between the lugs 7c Z, on eachside, is a pin or collar n. Secured to the bar W, and extending downthrough a slot o in the table T, is an arm p', whose lower slotted endis engaged by a pin in the upper end of a bell-crank q', pivoted, as atr', to the lower end of a bracket s', secured to the carrier G and tableT. The lower member of the bell-crank is loosely pivoted to the upperend of a vertical rod t', passed through a bearing u upon a supplementalbracket e', extending from the arch O, and said rod 2f is provided. withan adjustable collar w above the bearing u', and between which and saidcollar is a coiled spring or other elastic buffer x', surrounding therod if. l

The next feature of my invention consists in the mechanism for carryingoff the bricks after they have been removed from the compress-box. Itisin substance an endless belt supported and operated in the followingmanner: In the horizontal slots of two uprights IOC IIO

a, secured to the carrier G, is journaled the spindle of a horizontalroller b, which preferably occupies a recess in the upper side of thecompress-box opposite l. the feed-box V, and with its upper side iiushwith the top edge of the box. Hung upon the spindle of the roll D is astretcher-yoke c, from which two stretcher-rods c extend outward and areconnected to an opposite stretcher-yoke e, Figs. 5 and 6, whose sidearms are adj ustably secured by bolts f to short journalarms g, in whichis journaled t-he spindle of the outer roll h. Secured to the base B,and extending outwardly and upwardly, are two crossed brace rods or armsfi, whose upper ends have eyes or perforations j, through which thebolts f pass, and other perforations j", through which the outer ends ofhorizontal brace-rods 2 are passed and held by nuts 3, Figs. 5 and 9,andthen extendback and are secured to the ribs H. The endless apron or beltX is passed around the rollers b h", and is made taut by the nuts le,Fig. 5, on the threaded ends of the rods d on each side of the yoke e".The spindle of the roll 7L has upon one end a sprocket-wheel Z, fromwhich a drive-chain m extends around a second sprocket-wheel n, fastupon a suitably-journaled shaft o, having upon its end a bevel-pinion p,meshin witha corresponding pinion q 4upon the shaft of the adjacent gearK. Thus the operation of the power mechanism transmits revolution to theroller h and causes the belt X to travel with its upper surfaceconstantly moving away from the compress-box, as will be readilyunderstood. At the commencement of the operation, when the carrier G isdown to its lowest point of stroke and the movable bottom e is flushwith the top of the compress-box, the box V is directly over andregisters with the mouth of the compress-box, and the spring c" is undertension. (Shown by the solid lines of Fig. lO.) Now, as the carrier Gmoves up the bracket s goes with it, thus `carrying the pivot of thebell-crank q with it, whereupon, by such shifting of the pivot of thebellcrank, the spring t" is released at once, and with a quickstrokedraws the box V back upon the table T,out of the way of the platen P,whose plate enters the mouth of the compress-box. The parts are nowinthe position shown by Fig. l2, by the dotted lines of Fig. l0, and byFig. 7. The box V remains back upon the table T, and the attendantplaces therein a brick which has been molded or partially pressed,`andthen the carrierl and compress-box descend. In descending, and whenabout one-quarter of the way down, the leg f, with the movable bottom c,is first arrested by the contact of the collar 2' and plate K, Fig. 3,or by the contact of the rod r and plate 7L, Fig. 4, and further descentof the carrier and box causes the top of the movable bottom e to comeflush with the top edge of the box. The adjustment is such that just atthis moment the bottom of the carrier comes in contact with the top ofthe collar i, (solid lines, Fig. 10,) and further descent continues, thebottom e and leg f now going down together. As soon as ,the contact ismade between the bottom of the carrier and the collar c the pivot ofthebell-crank qand the rod t have been sufliciently lowered to put thespring 01; undersuch tension that the further descent of the carriertrips the bellcrank q', throws the box V, with its contained brick,quickly over the mouth of the compress-box, and puts the spring t" againunder tension. At this point the carrier has reached its lowest limit ofstroke and starts up again. As it goes up, the pivot of the bell-crankis again shifted to release the tension of the spring t, as beforedescribed, and the first backward movement of the rod lV draws back theyoke-rod j and lifts the side CZ to a horizontal position without movingthe box V. Just at. this point the stops n on the rod j come in contactwith the lugs k', and the box V is drawn back on the table T, the raisedside CZ clearing the -brick that was in the box and leaving it upon themovable bottom e. The further upward movement of the carrier andcompress-box continues, and the bottom e, with its brick, settles withinthe compress-box, and just as the bottom e is arrested upon the top ofthe carrier and the brick is completely enveloped bythe compress-box theplaten-plate enters the top of the box and the pressing is done, as seenin Fig. 7. Another brick has been placed by the attendant in thedrawnback box V, which still has its side d raised in a horizontalposit-ion, and the downstroke is repeated as before. Vhen the box V isagain pushed forward to IOO deposit the next brick, the just-pressedbrick has been raised out of the compress-box, as seenin Fig. S, and thelowered side CZ, which has been lowered by the first forward movement ofthe yoke-bar j', pushes the pressed brick off upon the travelin apron,which carries it away with such rapidity that it is out of the waybefore the side d is again raised at the back stroke of box V, as willbe readily understood. So the operation of feeding the bricks to thecompress-box and removing them goes on continuously and automatically.From the belt X the bricks are removed and taken to the drying-room, andfinally to the kiln.

In Fig. ll the yoke-rod j is dispensed with and the rod XV ism adefastto the box V without lost motion. In such case the side d would IIObe raised by the brick within the box V as the latter 'was drawn back,and the side d would drop back to close the box by gravity. By reason ofthe horizontal slots in the uprights a, in which the spindle of therollerV the same tautness, as will be readily understood.

y As a further means for starting the expulsion of a pressed brick fromthe compressbox, the following mechanism is employed, referring to Figs.l, 9, and l2. In guide-boxes 4, secured to the yoke O, is fitted asliding rod 5, having secured to it a stop-block 6, extending in andresting upon the plate 7L. The outer end of the rod 5 has pivoted to itat 7 the outer end of a pitman 8, whose inner end is connected to awrist-pin 9 upon a disk l() upon the inner end of the shaft o or to thewrist-pin of a crank on said shaft. The adjustment of the parts is suchthat just after the spring Zhas been put under tension the block 6 willbe directly under the legf and will engage it, thereby starting to expelthe compressed brick and looseningitin the compress-box, whereupon thespringt finishes the expulsion, and the block (i slips from under theleg f and passes to the opposite side of the yoke, and then, at thecomplete revolution of the shaft o, returns to the position shown inFig. l2. This mechanism will be found particularly useful in giving aninitial start to the bottom e in cases Where the bricks are subjected tovery heavy pressure and adhere tightly to the compress-box.

The advantage of the box form of feeder and remover with a hinged sideis to prevent an impressed brick coming in direct contact with a pressedand highly-finished brick. In many cases this would spoil the finish ofone side of the pressed brick, owing to the adherence thereto of looseparticles from the unpressed brick. Again, in other classes of work allthe advantage of the automatic feeding and removing of the bricks mightbe accomplished by the construction shown in Fig. 13, where the box V isdispensed with as such, and an upright fiat pusher-plate V issubstituted therefor. In this case thel bricks would be fed upon thetable T against agage plate or rib Il, secured to the table, and thefed-in brick would by direct contact remove the pressed brick from thebottom e. The mechanism for operating the plate V is just the same asthat for operating' the box V. Again, where the boxV is used, theswinging side d may be any iiexible apron-as leather or oil-cloth, forinstance secured at its upper edge to the box, the only purpose of thisswinging side being to prevent the direct contact of the pressed andunpressed bricks.

Having thus fully described my invent-ion, I

l. In a brick-pressing machine, the combination, with a carrier havingvertical reciprocal motion and a compressbox carried thereon andprovided with a movable bottom for expelling a pressed brick, of afeeding-pusher actuated by a reciprocating part of the pressing deviceto deposit a brick in position to enter the compress-box, substantiallyas and for the purpose described.

2. In a brick-pressing machine, the combination, with a carrier havingvertical reciprocal motion and a compress box carried thereon andprovided with a movable bottom for expelling a pressed brick, of afeeding-box actuated by a reciprocating part of the pressing device todeposit a brick in position to enter the compress-box, substantially asdescribed.

3. In a brick-pressing machine, the combination, with a carrier havingvertical reciprocal motion and a compress-box carried thereon andprovided with a movable bottom for expelling a pressed brick, of afeeding-pusher actuated by the press to deposit a brick in position toenter the compress-box and to remove the previously-pressed brick, and avibrating endless traveling apron to receive the removed pressed brick,substantially as described.

4C. In a brick-pressing machine, the combination, with a carrier havingvertical reciprocal motion and a compress-box carried thereon andprovided with a movable bottom, of a horizontally-sliding feed-pusher, axed support for the same traveling with the compress-box, anactuating-rod for the pusher, a bell-crank connected at one end to saidrod and at the other to a yielding support and pivoted to the carrier oran extension therefrom, and a spring for retracting the pusher,substantially as and for the purpose described.

5. In a brick-pressing machine, the combination, with the feeding-box V,provided with the hinged side d and guide-lugs 7c Z', of theactuating-rod W, provided with the yoke-rod j', pivoted to upper slottedextensions of the side CZ', passed through the lugs k Z', and providedwith collars n between said lugs, substantially as and for the purposedescribed.

6. In a brick-pressing machine, the combination of thehorizontally-slotted uprights a, carrying the roller b, the yokes c e,the connecting stretcher-rods d, the journalarms g, the roller h,journaled therein, brace-rods for said journal-arms, a sprocketwheel onthe spindle of the roller h, and the drive-chain m, driven b v the powerthat actuates the press, substantially as and for the purpose described.

7. In a brick-pressing machine, the combination, with thevertically-reciprocating compress-box, its movable bottom e, providedwith the leg f, having a projection 2', the guide-arch O, buffer 7c,loose upon the leg f, the spring l, interposed between said arch andbuffer la, and the support h, of the sliding block (i, carried upon therod 5, and the actuating-pitman 8, pivoted to said rod and to arevolving part of the press, substantially as and for the purposedescribed.

v CHARLES W. RAYMOND. IVitnesse's:

WALTER D. JONES, E. L. BONE.

